from the affordable care act. enrollment in the program began today. local democratic house members just spoke from the steps of capitol hill. barbara harrison is live at the live desk. >> they condemned house republicans for causing the shutdown. hoyer along with virginia congressman and several others blame the gop for the several thousand federal employees who will be furloughed due to the shutdown. >> our federal employees play a crucial role in keeping america strong, safe and free. but house republicans have decided to use them as pawns in their obsessive partisan game against health care reform. >> meanwhile, members of the gop blame the senate for rejecting the proposals they have offered. at the live desk, i'm barbara harrison. jim? pat? thousands of places are in

furlough mode. among those not working, 800,000 employees deemed non-essential. active duty members of the military are still working. postal workers and air traffic controllers are still on the clock. here in the district, city employees declared everybody essential. many workers we spoke to in prince george's county expressed disappointment lawmakers couldn't reach a compromise to avoid the shutdown. >> it's really the uncertainty. it's not only that we are being sent home, but when will we be back? no one said. >> we are not one of those lady government worker that is everyone thinks is so rich. i don't know who those people are, but it's not us. >> all they care about is wasting a bunch of time up there doing anything. they don't care.

they got theirs. >> about one in every six prince george's county residents is employed by the federal government. a company told hundreds of workers to stay home. microtech works as a federal government contractor in the tysons corner region. they have nothing to do until it's over. the company's ceo is hoping it shuts down soon. >> the folks on the hill turned it into a bargain chip. jobs should never be about this is what i want and i'm going to twist everybody's arm until i get it. >> we are non-essential. we are going to take the bags and go home. coming up at 5:00, a closer look inside microtech and what the ceo says about how long they can weather the shutdown. as for what you can visit and

see, well, here's the list. all smithsonian museums and the zoo are closed. the monuments and memorials are shutdown. the capital visitor's center is closed with tours canceled. on the open side, pretty much all the museums you would normally pay to get into. the kennedy center and ford theater are open but will have hours cut back. there are a number of free walking tours through cultural d.c. a group of world war ii veterans were allowed on the grounds of the world war ii memorial. this is after a group of lawmakers moved the barriers blocking access. the vets were part of an honor flight from mississippi. they fly them into d.c. to see the memorial. tom sherwood will have more at 5:00. we have been mentioned the national parks are closed. among the areas here in our area, here in washington, that

includes great falls in northern virginia. you can see police have the entrance all blocked off. across the region, the impact from the shutdown is felt on the roads and the rails, too. ne news 4 adam tuss is at the vienna metro stop where he spoke to a lot of federal workers as they arrived home earlier than normal. >> reporter: as metro rolled on, federal workers rolled in. what have they told you as far as the shutdown is concerned? >> oh, to go home. they are not predicting how long it will last. >> reporter: she works for the u.s. trade commission. her thoughts, the same as many federal employees. >> i think it's silly. i don't understand. >> reporter: if the government does stay closed. metro will take a hit. 40% of rush hour metro riders are federal workers. over on the roads, a long stretch of beach drive closed.

drivers frus raited because they had to find another way. >> i had to turn around and go the other way. we can't go through because of a furlough. that's crazy. >> reporter: for some, the closed roads meant a chance to cycle on a space that's normally too crowded with cars. throughout the region, the transportation impact could be felt. back here, federal employees make their way home tonight. coming up, news 4 at 5:00 will have more on the situation including employees trying to make the best of the situation. at the vienna metro station, adam tuss, news 4. stocks actually climbed as investors brushed off the shutdown. the final numbers are settling, but the dow, nasdaq and s&p 500 all closed up. financial experts tell us to expect a volatile week on the market. stay with us for more on the shutdown and impact.

you can get the latest updates and news alerts from www.nbcwashington.com. still ahead, which local businesses are offering free byes in response to the shutdown? plus, computer glitches, system overloads on the first day of health care enrollment. new crime wave hits northwest d.c. stun gun attacks. let's turn to veronica. >> temperatures in the 80s. montgomery, folks in morningside as well as mitchellville, like early september. we are turning the page back more on the calendar. i'll show you the warmest days i'll show you the warmest days of the week and the

i was honored to serve as governor of virginia. we brought folks together in richmond to focus on creating jobs and getting results. that's the virginia way. and that's why i'm backing terry mcauliffe for governor. terry won't let ideological battles get in the way of making progress. terry will work with democrats, republicans, and independents to create jobs and move virginia forward. it's important for virginia that we elect terry mcauliffe as our governor. i'm terry mcauliffe, candidate for governor, and i sponsored this ad.

despite the government shutdown, it is all systems go today for the affordable care act. >> the new law kicked in today meaning you can shop for health coverage through insurance exchanges. there are a few technical glitches. federal sites crashed almost immediately when people logged on. >> consumers got messages telling them to come back later. open enrollment continues through march. we'll have more on the health care law coming up in the next half hour. you probably have many more questions and will find answers on www.nbcwashington.com, just search affordable care act.

d.c. residents on edge after two new reports of robberies with stun guns. we have details. sleeping in, but staying in school later. school later. we are going to hash through big oh, no, i got to go. oh, can you make that to go? these days, nobody has time to get sick. but minuteclinic makes it easy to get well. our nurse practitioners can diagnose and write prescriptions for everything from strep throat to sinus infections with no appointment necessary, so you can feel better in no time.

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new today, a second biker is being questioned in connection with a high speed chase on manhattan's highway.

a camera recorded the incident. a biker cut off an suv with a man, his wife and child inside. the biker was bumped and run over when the suv driver felt threatened and tried to get away. the biker was arrested this morning. this afternoon, another biker turned himself in to police. he's questioned for the assault of the suv driver pulled from his car and beaten after more than a two-mile chase. a third biker who used his helmet to break the window is still being sought. a gas line break for hundreds of residents. >> hazmat crews are still on the scene of this leak in oklahoma city. they are trying to shut off the gas line. we have video that we are getting in from a helicopter over the scene of the incident. crews cut the high pressure gas line a few hours ago forcing dozens to be evacuated. traffic has been blocked off.

we'll continue to update you on what we learned. at the live desk, i'm barbara harrison. jim? >> thanks. there have been two more. right now, d.c. police are trying to figure out if a series of stun gun robberies are related. they were near logan circle and the convention center. now, one near tennessee avenue and capitol hill. in that case, investigators tell us a group of four men tased a man and went off with his iphone. we spoke with a man who found the victim. >> he looked up and one of them said good evening. then the four sort of joined around him and one tasered him. he went down and said he hurt his back. >> pat collins will have more on the cases tonight here at 5:00. a driver ticketed after hitting a student on her way to school. police say the 17-year-old was in a crosswalk monday morning and ryan road and belmont ridge

road. the driver was making a turn at the time. luckily, the teenager suffered only minor injuried. the driver is charged with failing to yield the right of way. like to sleep in? school officials are considering changes that could impact every student in montgomery county. a plan calls for high school classes to begin later. this proposal lengthens the school day for elementary students. mark segraves is in bethesda. >> reporter: if montgomery county school superintendent gets his way, high school students won't have to get to school until 8:15, nearly an hour later than the current start time. this makes sense. i think, if we can do it, if we can afford it, if it makes sense, why not do it. i don't think of a reason not to. >> reporter: the changes are needed because most high school students don't get enough sleep. >> there's a clear link between

student health and well being and sleep. if kids can start later, we expect they will get more sleep. it's related to safer roads and kids being more alert. >> they are recommending high school students start 50 minutes later. middle schools ten minutes earlier and elementary schools stale in an extra 30 minutes a day. >> i think my daughters can handle it. if they think it's a good idea, i'm behind it. it means i have to leave work less early to get them from the bus stop. >> reporter: the additional 30 minutes of class time benefits the students, it's necessary to stagger the time students get out of class because of school bus routes. the cost could be $12 million a year. >> i think it's a great idea. as far as i have heard, the studies show it's better for the kids, at this age, to start later, their minds work better.

>> reporter: how about your kids? >> he does okay, but i'm sure he would love to come later. >> reporter: it's important to note, these are preliminary reck men dags. the soonest the plan could go into effect is the 20150 school year. coming up at 5:00, we'll hear from students about a concern. in montgomery county, mark segraves, news 4. turning to the weather. our weather is about to turn back to summer. >> exactly. we are moving toward summer. the temperatures out west are moving toward winter. let me take you to washington state and show you where there's been big snow. seattle, the first big snowfall, a group of, after the slipping and sliding, the snowboarders, they love to head out. the thrills of the morning at a local ski resort outside seattle, washington. crews are busy as in every city.

busy cleaning up and they have more snow on the way. around here, we are moving toward summertime temperatures. 84 degrees is where we currently sit at reagan national. the evening planner forecast at 7:00 will drop to 79 degrees. 75 under a mostly clear sky at 9:00. the point here is that we are looking at a comfortable evening ahead of us, even at 11:00 p.m. still hanging on to the low 70s out there. on satellite and radar, a few clouds move into the area making for interesting cloud cover. every now and then, you hit a pocket of clouds. for the most part, it's a mostly sunny afternoon. it feels good outside. a nice evening for us. an area of high pressure still with us, controlling the weather. tomorrow morning, no issues what so ever. we start with sunshine and it's good enough to step out the door with short sleeves. if you are lucky enough to have the afternoon off, short pants for the afternoon. that's how mild it's going to be.

early thursday morning, no issues at all. mostly sunny conditions. again, we need rain. early tomorrow morning, some of the northern and western suburbs are starting out in the low and mid-50s. mt. airy and fredericksburg. leesburg 52 degrees, higher temperatures down to the south. fredericksburg, 57 degrees to start. still, again, fairly mild for this time of year. temperatures running about ten to 12 degrees above average tomorrow. by 8:00 a.m., we are at 68. by late morning, we are going to start warming fast, into the upper 70s at 11:00 a.m. 86 degrees at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow. there's a look at the high temperatures. there could be some neighborhoods that could hit 87 degrees for a high temperature tomorrow. we are nice and dry and quiet on the storm team seven day forecast. the weekend, dry with a high temperature around 85 degrees. it is the latter part of the

weekend. very late when there could be storms popping in the mountains. rain, next rain on monday. we'll talk about the lack of rainfall and what impact it's having on the fall color around here a little later in the newscast. jim? pat? >> thanks. free food, pilates. we are going to run through the government freebies out there.

insomnia via text and are online conversations ruining the way we talk to each other? >> hot 95's cane is with us. welcome back. great to see you. we are all guilty of responding to a text message in the middle of the night. you are finding there's a problem created by it. >> doctors are finding, to be honest with you. the texts are straining your relationship and can mess with your sleep. ready for this? this will help you keep the cell phone in the kitchen when you go to bed. you sense when you get text messages whether it is on vibrate or ring. that means bad sleep. you feel pressured to respond,

especially if it's a late night text. there's more stress in relationship, too. >> as a matter of fact, all that texting is making talking face-to-face unnecessary. not a good thing. >> the science behind this, this will freak you out. you stop recognizing facial expressions when you text all the time. so, when you see someone, you forget the little nuances that say jim is in a bad mood today, we should avoid him at all costs. >> not good. >> not good. >> it's why they have the face icons you can attach. >> the emoticons? it's the tiny features in 20, 30, 50 years from now, our kids kids may have trouble recognizing facial expressions. there are places in town helping people make the best of the government shutdown. you have a long list. >> there's tons.

it's all on the website now. pork barrel, they are doing a free sandwich with a government id except if you are in congress. there's the sixth and i historic synagogue, they have games, coffee and wi-fi and "west wing" on nonstop replay. taylor gor moe and sprinkles cupcakes has a free cupcake today. it's just a taste. if you want to hang out at the hot 99.5 studio tomorrow, we are on 5:30 to 10:00. ring the front doorbell, you can come up and hang out. you can have all the company's coffee you want. >> the catch is 5:30 a.m. >> you, too. >> thanks. speaking of invitations, jingle ball is coming up. you have information on how to get tickets before everybody else.

>> tomorrow morning, you can gept tickets before they are on sale, before we announce the lineup. come by and pick them up in person. >> we'll be listening and visiting. >> fine. >> thank you. is there an end in sight? from furloughed workers who don't know when they will see another paycheck to tourists with wrecked vacations and canceled weddings on the national mall. what you need to know, straight ahead. new images from the kenya mall attack including reports

welcome back. i'm pat lawson muse. >> i'm jim handly.

at 4:30, the govern in the is smut down. is there an end in sight? the weeks leading up to today, there's no shortage of fingerprinting. today, the blame game is gaining moment momentum. steve handelsman is live on capitol hill with the latest. steve? >> reporter: the fight over obama care got so intense, neither side is going to guess how long it might last with government actually partly shutting down. the national mall closed and the smithsonian. space closed. the world war ii memorial, some vets had to by pass the barricade. >> i don't know if i'll get back or not. >> reporter: 800,000 federal workers are furloughed. >> it's going to hurt a lot of people in a lot of ways. >> the government is closed. >> reporter: both sides blamed the other. >> speaker boehner and his tea party radicals have done the

unthinkable. >> they have their prize. >> reporter: they are fed up. >> fighting for nothing. it's ridiculous. >> republicans are fighting obama care. today, demanding senate democrats agree to a roll back. >> we want to sit down and get it done. we don't want to close the government down. >> they won't even sit down and have a discussion about this. >> reporter: ironically on the day government shut, obama care opened for business. here, an insurance claim in new york and healthcare.gov. >> they have shut down the government to deny affordable health care to americans. >> reporter: a poll finds 72% of americans disagree with shutting down government to block obama care. some republicans are proposing deals to reopen parts of

government. jim and pat, democrats are demanding the shutdown be entirely ended and the affordable care act be left alone. >> seems like politicians are floating a lot of ideas. why isn't there any movement? >> reporter: jim, republicans are trying a lot of things. the white house summed it up saying look, if you want to reopen government, reopen government. democrats feel the public is blaming republicans and they are not going to make a move. >> steve handelsman with the latest, live from capitol hill. steve, thanks. it's not just monuments and museums that are impacted. landmarks and attractions across the country are shut down from yellowstone park to the gateway arch in st. louis to the grand canyon. all are closed to tourists. it's recking vacations folks have been planning for months. >> something i want to see as a child. now i'm 63 years old.

i'm going to see it for the first time. now i'll get there and not see it. >> the shutdown affects restaurants, hotels and other businesses that rely on tourist dollars. not nearly as significant as lost money or benefits, there's a lot of buzz over the panda cam going dark. we recorded the final minutes of her cuddling her cub before it was pulled. it requires federal resources and has not been deemed essential. the zoo is closed to visitors. smithsonian officials say the shutdown will not affect the care of the animals. the opening of maryland's online health benefit exchange has been delayed by website problems due to high demand. it's expected to be fixed sometime this afternoon. website and other states experienced glitches. many centers are using paper applications to register people under the health care law.

d.c. police are looking into five separate stun gun related robberies. sunday, a man says a group of guys approached him, tasered him and ran off with his iphone. it happened near 10th and v streets northwest. they are looking into the possibility it's connected to similar cases near the convention center. officials considering a brand-new proposal that starts high school classes an hour later every day. it adds 30 minutes to elementary school days. parents will have a chance to weigh in before the school board takes a final vote on the plan. new developments on the effort to remove chemical weapons in syria. we have the latest on the live desk. >> we are getting the video in. it shows international inspectors arriving in syria to begin the lengthy process. 20 inspectors along with their equipment arrived in damascus. they are tasked with dismantling and destroying the chemical ars

n al. at the live desk, i'm barbara harrison. pat? jim? >> thanks, barbara. is the army air force game in jeopardy because of the shutdown? a power outage and explosion on uc berkley. was copper wire theft to blame? what's the latest on the weather? >> a terrific evening for us. not going to need a jacket tomorrow morning. dress like it's august

the government shutdown may force the cancellation of a college football rival. the navy and air force are set to play in annapolis saturday. the game is sold out. the department of defense suspended all athletic competitions at the service academy's because of the shutdown. a final decision on that game will be made at noon on thursday. president obama is updating members of the military around the world and a video about the shutdown. >> those of you in uniform will remain on normal duty status. the threats to national security have not changed. we need you to be ready for contingency. ongoing military like the efforts in afghanistan will continue.

>> the president noted that service members will continue to get their paychecks on time. store owners in kenya are trying to figure out who looted their shops. take a look at the aftermath in nairobi. windows and display cases are smashed. parts of the building are destroyed. some are accusing the security forces of looting the stores since they were some of the only ones allowed inside after the attack. al shabab took credit for the siege. customers were logging on to get health insurance. how the first day of health care enrollment went. why local firefighters are why local firefighters are adding a touch of pink to t

"i'm terry mcauliffe, candidate for governor, and i sponsored this ad." these are birth control pills. more than half of american women use them at some point in their lives but ken cuccinelli sponsored a bill that could have made common forms of birth control illegal, including the pill. cuccinelli was one of only five senators to support this "potentially radical intrusion into domestic, family and individual decision-making" why is ken cuccinelli interfering in our private lives? he's focused on his own agenda. not us.

copper wire thieves may be to blame for a powerful explosion at the university of california berkley. the blast sent some students scrambling for safety and left others trapped in elevators screaming for help. four people suffered minor injuries. engineers were trying to restore power to an under ground

substation. five people, including a 2-year-old boy are recovering now from a bizarre stabbing attack on a new york city bike path. a man wielding a pair of scissors slashed a man and his toddler. he stabbed a woman before that. a bystander held the guy down until officers arrived. police say the suspect is homeless and suffers psychological problems. efforts to restore the navy yard building where 12 people were shot and killed last month are moving forward. it sustained extensive damage on the day aaron alexis carried out the shooting spree. a $6.4 million contract has been handed out for the repairs to be done. the colorado company is looking at new designs while they consider what to do with the building. we are more on another big

story unfolding today. open enrollment for obama care is officially under way. websites and call centers are helping people, but technical glitches are complicated the process. daniel daniel daniellelee joins us with more. >> the roll outhasn't been perfect, but the demand for insurance is greater than they anticipated. at this new york call center, staff fielded an array of questions. in washington, d.c., people waited for in-person help enrolling for obama care until the website stopped working. the marketplace blamed heavy traffic when it began posting error messages. maryland's state run exchange delayed until noon. president obama called the glitches temporary. >> we are going to speed things up to handle all the demand that

exceeds anything that we expected. >> reporter: nate is among those seeking insurance. his part-time job doesn't offer care. >> a family history of lymphoma, it would be a good idea in case anything happened. >> nbc kaiser survey found 49% of the public is confused by the health care law. >> the word is going to get out about what is available. but i think there's going to be a need to be a full force effort to educate the public about the changes. >> reporter: applicants must enroll by december 15th to be covered january 1st. they have until the end of march to sign up and avoid tax penalties. 3 million people have visited health care.gov to sign up. i'm daniellelee. back to you.

>> how can you determine how much insurance is going to cost you? >> it's going to depend on a couple things. what level or tier of insurance, platinum or bronze, what state you live in and how much you make. jim and pat? >> are all the glitches we are hearing about evidence of high interest? >> that's what we are hearing from a lot of lawmakers and the obama administration the fact there are glitches is because of high traffic. although they need to work it out may not be a bad thing. people want to sign up for the insurance. >> thank you danielle. research shows only two out of five americans are aware of what health exchange actually is. this new system. coming up at 5:00, doreen gentzler reports on d.c. sisters, a group of people to teach the community about the affordable care act. if you have questions, we have broken it down for you on our

website, www.nbcwashington.com. search affordable health care. change of wardrobe for firefighters in fairfax county this month. they are going pink for breast cancer awareness. members of the fire and rescue department will be wearing pink shirts through october 14th in support of the fight to get rid of the disease. october 15th, firefighters will begin wearing purple wristbands. the bands will say speak out to end domestic violence. on to new details in a deadly rock slide in colorado. barbara harrison is back at the live desk with pictures and details. >> we know the five people killed when boulders fell from a cliff in colorado were all members of the same family. a 13-year-old survived when her father protected her from the falling rocks. she's in stable condition. crews scale the steep cliff face to try to recover the bodies but had to stop after they became concerned more rocks could come

loose. the family was hiking when several boulders came loose. witnesses say it looked like an entire side of the mountain came down. at the live desk, i'm barbara harrison. >> thanks, barbara. we have cool nights and warmer days. fall color. >> right. >> where are we starting to see the color? >> all around us. this is the time of year we get inspired to sport color because of the scarletts, the reds and the colors. we are starting to see a little of it around here. outside right now, we have a beautiful day. another day with mostly sunny sky. take a look at the fall color report. we will be updating the storm team 4 over the next couple weeks. low color in those areas where you see yellow. westminster to frederick to winchester through la ray and i-81 with more moderate color showing up here.

it's south of western maryland and down through the higher spots of northern west virginia, canaan valley and elkins and areas toward lewisburg and blacksburg, there's a little moderate color that is started showing up. but, one thing we know is that we haven't had a lot of rainfall here. locally, with the low, low color we are seeing. it's allowed for some leaf drop and premature color. since september 1, 1.22 inches of rain. it puts the deficit down by 2.5 inches. normally, we would pick up over 3.5 inches. push it into the early color and allow the leaves to drop early. on my way to work today, noticed a couple trees, the leaves sprinkling down like rain. it is the rain we need. there is a chance coming up as you will see, the upcoming seven day forecast. 84 degrees right now in d.c. 83 in college park. 70s to the north.

low 80s to the south. tomorrow, get ready for even milder conditions. even this evening, if you are going to be out, pleasant as we drop to low 70s. 73 degrees by 10:00 p.m. certainly no jacket tomorrow. tomorrow is short pants day for you. 85 degrees in mechanicsville. good afternoon to lend ardsville. camp springs 84. 87 degrees king george. this means you should have extended recess. any kids out there, long recess coming up tomorrow afternoon. look at manassas at 85. warrenton as 86 degrees. culpeper, 86 degrees tomorrow. folks normally are into the low and mid-70s around here during the afternoon for this time of year. here is the storm team 4 four day forecast. 86 tomorrow. we park it around 85 degrees for thursday and friday. pick up a few clouds with a weak system that comes our way.

that's the system that brought some of the rain to areas way, way out west. again, a couple mild days coming up when you consider the average high 73 degrees. then as we head into the first part of the weekend, 86 on saturday with sunshine across the area. sunday, a few clouds as i talked about earlier. sunday is the day during the late afternoon/evening hours, possibly in the mountains there could be showers. maybe a thunderstorm or two. looking dry this weekend. yet, another great weekend. remember the beginning of summer, it seemed like we couldn't get nice weekends. now we have them in a row. they are happening over and over. monday, we could pick up showers and storms. that's the front that is looking like it could bring us a decent chance of rain. we'll get the weather front moving in and with a tropical system down south in the southern part of the gulf of mexico, there's the possibility the moisture could meet up with the front helping produce rain.

let's hope it happens early part of next week. the temperatures dropping to the mid and upper 70s by the beginning of the week. certainly, for the rest of the week and the upcoming weekend, feeling a lot like august around here instead of early october. jim, pat? the help wanted sign at amazon.com, they are looking for 70,000 workers to fill orders. they are eligible for health care benefits and the pay is close to what permanent workers earn. it was a fight for their lives. how an amazing combination of bravery and technology helped rescue a grandmother and granddaughter who drove into a creek. >> reporter: three taser attacks and robberies last week. now two more just two days ago. what's going on here? i'm pat collins, the story coming up.

there are several new laws you need to know about this afternoon before you head out the door this afternoon. maryland's gun law goes into effect. they banned assault rifles and magazines that hold more than ten rounds. you also have to be fingerprinted to buy a gun. k2 is illegal to sell anywhere in maryland. talking on a handheld cell phone is a primary offense in the car.

police can pull you over and slap you with an $83 fine. everyone in the vehicle will be required to wear a seatbelt. children under 4'9" are required to be in a safety seat. new traffic fines and rules. the fines are going up as much as 50 bucks. violators $150 for speeding 16 to 20 miles an hour over the limit. the failure for making a complete stop before turning drops to $50 now. owners will need to pay all fines and fees before getting a boot removed or getting your car released from the inpound lot. technology is getting credit for helping with the rescue of a woman and her granddaughter after a watery car wreck in kentucky. bravery and the push of a button may have saved their lives.

>> reporter: immediately after the on star emergency car, they did a search for an overturned vehicle. >> the lights went out on the car. the water is not rising anymore. there's a 6-year-old in the car trying to keep her head out of the water. >> reporter: when they arrived, without thinking twice, they headed into this creek. >> as soon as we stepped over where the mud and rocks is, i came up to my chest. at that point, we figured out we needed to get inside the vehicle quickly. >> reporter: with not much time, he had to act fast. >> i managed to get her legs freed up. we cut her seatbelt off and pulled her out. >> reporter: it was almost impossible to see the overturned car in the creek from the road. >> without on star, i don't know

how long they would have made it. i think the biggest thing is that we got there in time for the little girl to keep her head above the water. otherwise, i think we might have had a very different outcome. >> reporter: he hopes for the best. >> they are in critical, but stable condition in the hospital. i'm waiting an update. i'm hoping. hoping. praying. >> family members say the granddaughter injured in the crash is recovering from spinal injuries and a cut to the head. the grandmother recovering from a number of proken bones. ♪ right now at 5:00, bagpipes and barriers at war memorials. how veterans broke through while lawmakers remain stuck. padlocks shut children out of playgrounds. americans are left without a paycheck.

this republican shutdown did not have to happen. >> right now, here is the up-to-the minute shutdown. sorry, we're closed. that is the message posted all over washington tonight at the iconic landmarks and parkways around the national mall. the impact of the first federal government shutdown in more than a decade is felt today. 800,000 workers told they are off the job. house republicans are expected to introduce three funding bills to get money to programs to address the v.a. backlog, d.c. operations and the national parks. >> saying it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission, they did what they could to make sure the shutdown didn't ruin the day of nearly 200 world war ii veterans. they arrived from mississippi and iowa. tom sherwood was there as barriers were moved, a rare occurrence today on the national mall.

tom? >> reporter: well, pat, up there on capitol hill, congress is trying to figure out what to do next. at the world war ii memorial today, some people decided not to wait on congress. applause today for world war ii veterans, most in their late 80s and 90s, likely on the final trip of their lifetimes. they were among the latest group of vets to see the world war ii memorial built in their honor. what do you think about it? >> i think it's fantastic. >> reporter: at first, a memorial like others was officially closed because of the government shutdown. >> we thought they weren't going to be able to see. >> reporter: closed until visitors decided to open their monument. >> all i can say is the japanese couldn't stop them and the german's couldn't stop them. a little gate couldn't stop them. it's a great day. >> reporter: the park police stood aside. these vets from mississippi and io